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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2017/aug/14/liberal-party-labor-immigration-marriage-equality-tax-politics-live
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| Commonwealth Bank chief Ian Narev retires – politics live | Commonwealth Bank chief Ian Narev retires – politics live |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 1.01am BST | |
| 01:01 | |
| "I have a relationship with my mates who I go cycling with on the weekend but I'm not married to them." - Kevin Andrews weighs in... | |
| Andrews says he has affectionate relationships with friends but there's no law about friendship... | |
| I’m so confused... | |
| 12.51am BST | |
| 00:51 | |
| Housekeeping is in order with parliament resuming at 10am. | |
| In the Senate, we have government bills on a telecommunications regime “to better manage national security risks of espionage, sabotage and foreign interference, and better protect networks and the confidentiality of information stored on and carried across them from unauthorised interference and access”. | |
| The bill to implement the effects test, the competition bill on the misuse of market power, is number two on the government’s list. That bill would strengthen legal protections for small businesses and farmers against abuse of market power by big businesses. | |
| In the lower house, we have citizenship changes that toughen the English language test and the residency requirements. | |
| Updated | |
| at 12.53am BST | |
| 12.45am BST | |
| 00:45 | |
| The Australia Institute has done an interesting study on the gaps in federal corruption laws, apropos the case for a national corruption body. | |
| The report finds: | |
| There are significant gaps in the jurisdiction and investigative powers of the federal agencies responsible for scrutinising the public sector and government | |
| No agency has the power to investigate corrupt conduct as defined by our state-based commissions | |
| No agency can investigate misconduct of MPs, ministers or the judiciary | |
| The only agencies that have strong investigative powers can only use them when investigating criminal charges | |
| No agency holds regular public hearings, meaning that corruption and misconduct is not properly exposed to the public | |
| To fill these gaps, a federal anti-corruption commission will need strong investigative powers and broad jurisdiction similar to NSW Icac and other successful state-based commissions. | |
| The institute is holding a conference on this issue on Thursday, with a stellar line up, including former NSW Icac commissioner David Ipp, former NSW director of public prosecutions Nicholas Cowdery, counsel assisting NSW Icac Geoffrey Watson, shadow attorney general Mark Dreyfus, Greens leader Richard Di Natale, Senator Nick Xenophon, Senator Jacqui Lambie, professor George Williams, former independent national security legislation monitor Bret Walker, Noel Hutley, Law Council president Fiona McLeod, Anthony Whealy, associate professor Joo Cheong Tham, associate professor Gabrielle Appleby, and professor AJ Brown. | |
| Updated | |
| at 12.54am BST | |
| 12.30am BST | |
| 00:30 | |
| Sweet parliamentary business from Cormac Farrell, house bee wrangler. | |
| This frame of #honey wasn't in there going into winter - all from our nation's Parliament! @Aust_Parliament @Aurecon @ANU_Bees pic.twitter.com/8951whtTkq | |
| 12.25am BST | 12.25am BST |
| 00:25 | 00:25 |
| Lee Rhiannon: Bob Brown is hurting the Greens with his attacks | Lee Rhiannon: Bob Brown is hurting the Greens with his attacks |
| Four Corners is doing an instalment on the Greens tonight, in which Bob Brown continues his sharp criticism of NSW Greens senator Lee Rhiannon. | Four Corners is doing an instalment on the Greens tonight, in which Bob Brown continues his sharp criticism of NSW Greens senator Lee Rhiannon. |
| It comes two months after the open rift in the national Greens over Rhiannon and her opposition to the party negotiating with the government over the Gonski 2 schools funding package. | It comes two months after the open rift in the national Greens over Rhiannon and her opposition to the party negotiating with the government over the Gonski 2 schools funding package. |
| Rhiannon has put out a statement about Brown’s claims she is a team wrecker, saying Brown is upset because the NSW party preferred candidates other than his own. | Rhiannon has put out a statement about Brown’s claims she is a team wrecker, saying Brown is upset because the NSW party preferred candidates other than his own. |
| "Bob Brown accuses me of being a team wrecker": Statement from Greens Senator @leerhiannon #auspol pic.twitter.com/7JhzPHwhnv | "Bob Brown accuses me of being a team wrecker": Statement from Greens Senator @leerhiannon #auspol pic.twitter.com/7JhzPHwhnv |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 12.26am BST | at 12.26am BST |
| 12.20am BST | 12.20am BST |
| 00:20 | 00:20 |
| Hipster no more. | Hipster no more. |
| The beard is dead. #auspol #shave https://t.co/QdKFFDEeud pic.twitter.com/zStK30wIiI | The beard is dead. #auspol #shave https://t.co/QdKFFDEeud pic.twitter.com/zStK30wIiI |
| 12.17am BST | 12.17am BST |
| 00:17 | 00:17 |
| Education minister Simon Birmingham has joined Tim Wilson to push back against the Archbishop of Sydney’s scare campaign of “same sex coercion” in schools if Australia votes yes to marriage equality. | Education minister Simon Birmingham has joined Tim Wilson to push back against the Archbishop of Sydney’s scare campaign of “same sex coercion” in schools if Australia votes yes to marriage equality. |
| Birmingham on Sky: | Birmingham on Sky: |
| I have seen no proposals that would change the operations or workings of those provisions in the Sex Discrimination Act that should give absolute confidence to Archbishop Fischer, to church leaders to faith based schools around Australia that they could continue to be able to operate and teach precisely as they do today. | I have seen no proposals that would change the operations or workings of those provisions in the Sex Discrimination Act that should give absolute confidence to Archbishop Fischer, to church leaders to faith based schools around Australia that they could continue to be able to operate and teach precisely as they do today. |
| 12.09am BST | 12.09am BST |
| 00:09 | 00:09 |
| 12.07am BST | 12.07am BST |
| 00:07 | 00:07 |
| #BREAKING: CommBank CEO Ian Narev to resign pic.twitter.com/hYz3wr0wOt | #BREAKING: CommBank CEO Ian Narev to resign pic.twitter.com/hYz3wr0wOt |
| 12.03am BST | 12.03am BST |
| 00:03 | 00:03 |
| Commonwealth bank boss Ian Narev to retire (cough) | Commonwealth bank boss Ian Narev to retire (cough) |
| The embattled bank boss, under the hammer over action against the bank by Austrac over alleged money laundering, will retire by the end of the 2018 financial year. | The embattled bank boss, under the hammer over action against the bank by Austrac over alleged money laundering, will retire by the end of the 2018 financial year. |
| 12.01am BST | 12.01am BST |
| 00:01 | 00:01 |
| The Catholic archbishop of Sydney is warming up the campaign against a possible yes vote in the marriage plebiscite, claiming religious freedoms could be threatened. Joe Kelly of the Oz reports: | The Catholic archbishop of Sydney is warming up the campaign against a possible yes vote in the marriage plebiscite, claiming religious freedoms could be threatened. Joe Kelly of the Oz reports: |
| Archbishop Anthony Fisher has warned that religious schools, hospitals, charities and welfare agencies could be jeopardised by a Yes vote for same-sex marriage in the government’s postal ballot. | Archbishop Anthony Fisher has warned that religious schools, hospitals, charities and welfare agencies could be jeopardised by a Yes vote for same-sex marriage in the government’s postal ballot. |
| Firing an opening shot in the church’s campaign, the archbishop has laid down battlelines for the No case by linking the redefinition of marriage to broader community concerns about issues such as the contentious Safe Schools program. | Firing an opening shot in the church’s campaign, the archbishop has laid down battlelines for the No case by linking the redefinition of marriage to broader community concerns about issues such as the contentious Safe Schools program. |
| Liberal MP and marriage equality advocate Tim Wilson has told Kieran Gilbert on Sky News, that is incorrect. | Liberal MP and marriage equality advocate Tim Wilson has told Kieran Gilbert on Sky News, that is incorrect. |
| Wilson pulled out his trusty copy of the Australian constitution and has offered to send Fischer a copy. He quoted section 116: | Wilson pulled out his trusty copy of the Australian constitution and has offered to send Fischer a copy. He quoted section 116: |
| Commonwealth not to legislate in respect of religion | Commonwealth not to legislate in respect of religion |
| The Commonwealth shall not make any law for establishing any religion, or for imposing any religious observance, or for prohibiting the free exercise of any religion, and no religious test shall be required as a qualification for any office or public trust under the Commonwealth. | The Commonwealth shall not make any law for establishing any religion, or for imposing any religious observance, or for prohibiting the free exercise of any religion, and no religious test shall be required as a qualification for any office or public trust under the Commonwealth. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 12.06am BST | at 12.06am BST |
| 11.54pm BST | 11.54pm BST |
| 23:54 | 23:54 |
| Media laws before the Senate this week | Media laws before the Senate this week |
| Negotiations continue ahead of the Senate debating media reforms this week. The bill would scrap the two out of three rule, so media could control television, newspapers and radio stations in the same market and the reach rule, 75% reach rule, which prevents Nine Entertainment, Seven West Media and the Ten Network from owning their regional affiliates. | Negotiations continue ahead of the Senate debating media reforms this week. The bill would scrap the two out of three rule, so media could control television, newspapers and radio stations in the same market and the reach rule, 75% reach rule, which prevents Nine Entertainment, Seven West Media and the Ten Network from owning their regional affiliates. |
| Communications minister Mitch Fifield argues the new media landscape means that Australian media companies need to be able to grow to protect themselves against bigger global companies. | Communications minister Mitch Fifield argues the new media landscape means that Australian media companies need to be able to grow to protect themselves against bigger global companies. |
| Nick Xenophon wants an inquiry. | Nick Xenophon wants an inquiry. |
| We need to have a very thorough inquiry and action on the power of Facebook and Google. They have been complete disruptors in a very negative way in the sense they can cannibalise existing content of existing media outlets. And Facebook and Google are raking in more than $4bn year in advertising revenue which is cutting away from traditional media and hurting journalism, quality journalism in this country. | We need to have a very thorough inquiry and action on the power of Facebook and Google. They have been complete disruptors in a very negative way in the sense they can cannibalise existing content of existing media outlets. And Facebook and Google are raking in more than $4bn year in advertising revenue which is cutting away from traditional media and hurting journalism, quality journalism in this country. |
| Labor is opposed to the bill and the government is negotiating with the Greens and crossbenchers like Xenophon. | Labor is opposed to the bill and the government is negotiating with the Greens and crossbenchers like Xenophon. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 12.03am BST | at 12.03am BST |
| 11.46pm BST | 11.46pm BST |
| 23:46 | 23:46 |
| In case you missed it, Gareth Hutchens reports: | In case you missed it, Gareth Hutchens reports: |
| Six hundred of Australia’s biggest private companies could finally be forced to publish their high-level tax information, under a new push by Labor to repair a notorious piece of legislation. | Six hundred of Australia’s biggest private companies could finally be forced to publish their high-level tax information, under a new push by Labor to repair a notorious piece of legislation. |
| Labor will introduce a private senators’ bill on Monday to amend the Taxation Administration Act 1953, to require private companies with more than $100m in turnover to release their tax information to the public annually. | Labor will introduce a private senators’ bill on Monday to amend the Taxation Administration Act 1953, to require private companies with more than $100m in turnover to release their tax information to the public annually. |
| The former Labor government passed similar legislation in 2013 but the provision was wound back by the Coalition in late 2015 before the changes could take effect. | The former Labor government passed similar legislation in 2013 but the provision was wound back by the Coalition in late 2015 before the changes could take effect. |
| 11.43pm BST | 11.43pm BST |
| 23:43 | 23:43 |
| Kevin Rudd: giving the US a blank cheque on North Korea is irresponsible | Kevin Rudd: giving the US a blank cheque on North Korea is irresponsible |
| I want to bring you more of Kevin Rudd’s comments on Malcolm Turnbull’s approach to Anzus. | I want to bring you more of Kevin Rudd’s comments on Malcolm Turnbull’s approach to Anzus. |
| Rudd wrote a piece for the Financial Times about the real potential for conflict over North Korea: | Rudd wrote a piece for the Financial Times about the real potential for conflict over North Korea: |
| Some of us fear that we are sleepwalking again, blindly unaware of the abyss that lies ahead. | Some of us fear that we are sleepwalking again, blindly unaware of the abyss that lies ahead. |
| Rudd told the ABC that we have entered into a difficult and dangerous time. He says war on the peninsula is not probable but it is becoming more and more possible, | Rudd told the ABC that we have entered into a difficult and dangerous time. He says war on the peninsula is not probable but it is becoming more and more possible, |
| which is why we need calm language, solid diplomacy and not the sort of waving of arms into the air which we seem to have seen from Mr Turnbull in recent days about his Anzus pronouncements. | which is why we need calm language, solid diplomacy and not the sort of waving of arms into the air which we seem to have seen from Mr Turnbull in recent days about his Anzus pronouncements. |
| Rudd’s central point about the substantive issue is that China does not seem to think the US is serious about unilateral action against North Korea but in the US, it is a possibility. | Rudd’s central point about the substantive issue is that China does not seem to think the US is serious about unilateral action against North Korea but in the US, it is a possibility. |
| But he saved his fire for the Turnbull government’s “joined at the hip” statement. | But he saved his fire for the Turnbull government’s “joined at the hip” statement. |
| My response to this statement when I first saw it on the weekend was ‘good God, the conservatives in Australia have learnt nothing from the Iraq experience. John Howard gave president Bush a blank cheque on Iraq. You never as an Australian prime minister, as an ally of the United States, give the Americans before the event a blank cheque. There are multiple scenarios that could arise from the Korean peninsula and we cannot predict predict which if any of them would occur. But for an Australian prime minister to say that we automatically would become militarily involved in the event of a North Korean attack, frankly I think is irresponsible in terms of our core national security interests. | My response to this statement when I first saw it on the weekend was ‘good God, the conservatives in Australia have learnt nothing from the Iraq experience. John Howard gave president Bush a blank cheque on Iraq. You never as an Australian prime minister, as an ally of the United States, give the Americans before the event a blank cheque. There are multiple scenarios that could arise from the Korean peninsula and we cannot predict predict which if any of them would occur. But for an Australian prime minister to say that we automatically would become militarily involved in the event of a North Korean attack, frankly I think is irresponsible in terms of our core national security interests. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 12.04am BST | at 12.04am BST |
| 11.19pm BST | 11.19pm BST |
| 23:19 | 23:19 |
| There has been the sound of cannons this morning around the building, a welcome for Manasseh Damukana Sogavare, prime minister of the Solomon Islands, and his wife, Emmy Sogavare. | There has been the sound of cannons this morning around the building, a welcome for Manasseh Damukana Sogavare, prime minister of the Solomon Islands, and his wife, Emmy Sogavare. |
| Malcolm Turnbull and Sogavare will witness the signing of a bilateral security treaty. | Malcolm Turnbull and Sogavare will witness the signing of a bilateral security treaty. |
| The PM put out this statement last week. | The PM put out this statement last week. |
| The visit by Prime Minister Sogavare is an important milestone following the conclusion of the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (Ramsi) – a 14-year partnership that restored peace and stability to the Solomon Islands. | The visit by Prime Minister Sogavare is an important milestone following the conclusion of the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (Ramsi) – a 14-year partnership that restored peace and stability to the Solomon Islands. |
| Prime Minister Sogavare and I will discuss the new era ahead for our bilateral development, economic, and security partnership. | Prime Minister Sogavare and I will discuss the new era ahead for our bilateral development, economic, and security partnership. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 11.40pm BST | at 11.40pm BST |
| 11.05pm BST | 11.05pm BST |
| 23:05 | 23:05 |
| The long goodbye | The long goodbye |
| Good morning blogans, | Good morning blogans, |
| It is a glorious morning in Canberra, where a brilliant sunrise has dawned and the symphony of leaf blowers begins in the courtyards of parliament. | It is a glorious morning in Canberra, where a brilliant sunrise has dawned and the symphony of leaf blowers begins in the courtyards of parliament. |
| The political news is a mix of local and global. Adam Gartrell of Fairfax has dug up a sneaky move from last week which we all missed. The immigration minister Peter Dutton quietly introduced the Australian Border Force Amendment (Protected Information) Bill 2017 which would dump the extreme secrecy provisions that surround detention workers including teachers, lawyers and social workers from blowing the whistle if they saw neglect or abuse. The penalty at the moment is up to two years in prison. | The political news is a mix of local and global. Adam Gartrell of Fairfax has dug up a sneaky move from last week which we all missed. The immigration minister Peter Dutton quietly introduced the Australian Border Force Amendment (Protected Information) Bill 2017 which would dump the extreme secrecy provisions that surround detention workers including teachers, lawyers and social workers from blowing the whistle if they saw neglect or abuse. The penalty at the moment is up to two years in prison. |
| This bill would repeal the definition of protected information – currently any information obtained in a person’s capacity as an entrusted person – and change it to ensure “only specific kinds of information” are covered by the secrecy and disclosure provisions. | This bill would repeal the definition of protected information – currently any information obtained in a person’s capacity as an entrusted person – and change it to ensure “only specific kinds of information” are covered by the secrecy and disclosure provisions. |
| From the explanatory memo: | From the explanatory memo: |
| This bill seeks to balance the need to protect certain information, where appropriate, against the Australian government’s commitment to open government. | This bill seeks to balance the need to protect certain information, where appropriate, against the Australian government’s commitment to open government. |
| Doctors for Refugees’ Barri Phataford, who is involved in the court case, says bollocks. | Doctors for Refugees’ Barri Phataford, who is involved in the court case, says bollocks. |
| He’s clarifying it now because the government is in the middle of a high court challenge which frankly they know they cannot win. | He’s clarifying it now because the government is in the middle of a high court challenge which frankly they know they cannot win. |
| That bill does not appear to be up this week for debate. | That bill does not appear to be up this week for debate. |
| Kevin Rudd has talked to Fran Kelly about the escalating tension between the US and North Korea. He has been highly critical of Malcolm Turnbull’s “arm waving” on any potential conflict between the two countries. | Kevin Rudd has talked to Fran Kelly about the escalating tension between the US and North Korea. He has been highly critical of Malcolm Turnbull’s “arm waving” on any potential conflict between the two countries. |
| His comments come after Turnbull said on Friday the US were joined at the hip on defence matters. | His comments come after Turnbull said on Friday the US were joined at the hip on defence matters. |
| Rudd suggested the conservative party had learnt nothing from the conflict with Iraq and Australian prime ministers should not be giving the US a “blank cheque”. | Rudd suggested the conservative party had learnt nothing from the conflict with Iraq and Australian prime ministers should not be giving the US a “blank cheque”. |
| I will bring you some more of Rudd’s comments in a moment, in order to get this baby in the air. So grab a beverage, sit back and enjoy the ride of this week in parliament, my last on the #politicslive blog. For those who have missed the previous announcement, I am off to do other projects and Amy Remeikis, currently of Fairfax, will shortly take the reins. | I will bring you some more of Rudd’s comments in a moment, in order to get this baby in the air. So grab a beverage, sit back and enjoy the ride of this week in parliament, my last on the #politicslive blog. For those who have missed the previous announcement, I am off to do other projects and Amy Remeikis, currently of Fairfax, will shortly take the reins. |
| In the meantime, talk to me in the thread, on the Twits @gabriellechan or on Facebook. | In the meantime, talk to me in the thread, on the Twits @gabriellechan or on Facebook. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 11.29pm BST | at 11.29pm BST |